The present invention relates to aerosol systems comprising an aerosol assembly and a liquid product to be dispensed. The aerosol assembly conventionally comprises a container, a valve assembly, an actuator assembly, and a cap. The liquid product is disposed within the container along with a propellant material that pressurizes the product. The valve assembly is normally in a closed configuration but may be placed in an open configuration to allow pressurized product to exit the container. The actuator assembly engages the valve assembly such that pressing the actuator assembly places the valve assembly in the open configuration to allow the product to be dispensed through a nozzle formed by the actuator assembly. The cap engages the container to protect the actuator assembly when the aerosol system is not in use.
For some materials dispensed using an aerosol system, accessories are used in connection with the material being dispensed and/or the aerosol system. Accessories may include dispensing tubes or straws, brushes, cleaning devices, or any other small tool or adapter used to work the material or which is attached to the aerosol assembly as the material is dispensed.
The present invention is of particular significance when used to store dispensing tubes used with an aerosol system for dispensing texture material, and that application will be described herein in detail. The present invention may be used in other environments, however, and the scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims appended hereto and not the following detailed description.
For aesthetic reasons, texture material is often applied to wall surfaces. Texture material creates a bumpy or variegated pattern on the wall surface. Such texture patterns are often referred to as fine, medium, orangepeel, or the like. When a wall surface must be patched in a relatively small area, often the most convenient method of applying texture material is with an aerosol system. Dispensing the texture material through dispensing tubes with different internal bore diameters allows the texture material to be dispensed in different texture patterns. One of the dispensing tubes is selected such that the texture pattern obtained substantially matches the pre-existing texture pattern.
Conventionally, the dispensing tubes are taped to the aerosol container during manufacture. Such straws may be misplaced and/or stolen during shipping and retail display. Additionally, after the aerosol system is used for the first time, the user must take care to ensure that the straws are stored for the next and any subsequent use of the aerosol system. The need thus exists for improved systems and methods for storing accessories, including but not limited to dispensing tubes, for aerosol systems during shipping, retail display, and storage before and after the first use.